Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Fight tax by adding a new tax

Senator Patty Murray has never fought a tax. Today the headline said she was, but no, not true.

Headline: Fix the tax that sends our shipping to Canada

Container ships unloading in Seattle or Tacoma pay a "harbor maintenance tax" based on value that averages bout $109 per container. The ports in British Columbia, Canada pay no such tax. Unloading 5,000 containers the bill is $545,000. (That's average. Much worse for high-value cargo.)

So Senator Murray wants to even the playing field. She would want to reduce the tax, right? Senator Patty reduce a tax? She has a 20-year track record of tax, tax, tax.

No. She wants to add a new tax to stop the unequal treatment caused by the first tax. She would impose the same tax on containers arriving in the US by surface transportation - by truck or rail. Will her new tax raise prices to consumers? That's what always happens to taxes placed on industry.

Tacoma News Tribune

No comments: